Discovering Eden
by talena
Summary: AU; Both hardened by the lives they've led. Together they discover what they thought was lost to them.
1. Prologue I: Escaping Paradise

**Title:** Discovering Eden  
**Author:** talena  
**Disclaimers:** Nope, don't own anything, otherwise this story of mine would be a script for an episode. Roswell belongs to Jason Katims and Melinda Mitz.   
**Category:** Alternate Universe. The rest is a surprise.  
**Ratings/Genre:** PG-13- possible NC-17/Drama.Angst.  
**Summary: **His heart turned stone by the life he led. She lost sight of the person she was. Both searching for something better. Through each other and with the help of another, they find their ways back to themselves and the forgotten ability to love.   
**Dedication/Distribution: **Dedicated to Gaudicia and Ero. Want it? Just ask first.  
**Author's Notes: **Uh...Just another try at the Alternate Universe thing. Please leave feedback! I'm not sure if I want to continue with it! I hope it's not too bad. Really, I have nothing to say except I hope you like it!  
  
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Prologue A: Escaping Paradise  
  
_We stumble in a tangled web,  
decaying friendships almost dead  
And hide behind a mask of lies  
We twist and turn and we avoid,  
all hope of salvage now devoid  
I see the truth inside your eyes  
So take all this noise into your brain  
and send it back again  
I'll bear the cost, shed my skin, call  
you up and then...  
I'll say the words out loud  
  
You could resurrect a thousand  
words to deceive me more and more  
A thousand words will give the  
reasons why I don't need you  
anymore_  
  
The shadows of the darkened sky lingered close to the silent pavements, and mingled with the silvery gleam of the moon hidden behind the shade of storm clouds, creating a heavenly illusion, beautiful to all that witnessed this spectacular sight. To all but one. The petit and desolate figure of a female holding those precious close to her for fear of losing them trekked quietly down the hushed streets of the city, with only the fading glow of the streetlights to guide her to what was freedom.  
  
Her steps were quick and with each passing moment, her movements hastened even more to meet that of her swiftly beating heart. Instead of the heavenly illusion the nightly scene created, in her eyes the shadows were the black wings of death enclosing around her small form, ambushing her on every direction. Her long hair swept away from her face by the harshly blowing wind, and as the breeze passed through her, shivers ran down her spine, chilling her to her bone.   
  
The fading light was her fading freedom, and the beam of moonlight was the last bit of hope she had left, and she ran. She ran quickly, holding onto the two most important things in her life. She ran further and further away with tears flowing endlessly like the falling rain beating against her long coat. The shattering of her heart and the determination of her mind created a forlorn atmosphere, and she ran.  
  
Blindly she ran, her arms tight around those two precious bundles, shielding them with her being. She ran until she could run no more and found herself in the lushness of Central Park, and her eyes took in her surroundings as she carefully hid herself and her bundles behind several trees to catch her breath before once again escaping her plight.  
  
As she looked down she saw that she wasn't the only one who was tired. Smiling slightly, she ran her hand over the soft smoothness of her daughter's soft ebony chocolate hair, and the other hand ran over the lighter sandy shade of her son's little spikes. Her smile slowly disappeared, and her lips became heavy with a bittersweet smile as she looked down at her angels. Her dark eyes flashing in pain as she suddenly remembered why they were doing this, as she remembered the reason she was leaving the only home she had ever known. For them. All for her babies. Her eyes closed as she lost herself in the memories.  
  
_Flashback  
  
"We already talked about this." His voice was controlled, barely restraining his anger. "It's not possible. This is our life, and we can't escape it. There is no way."  
  
"She was almost killed! Are you hearing me? Our daughter was almost killed!" Her doe brown eyes flashed angrily as she swept her long hair from her face, rising up on her feet also, looking up at her husband in anger and defiance. "One of your men almost killed our daughter!"  
  
"Matt didn't see her, she was making a lot of noise, and he reacted like he was trained to." His eyes flashed with emotion, though his were less apparent.   
  
"That's right! What he was trained to do!" Her voice quieted and tears filled her eyes as she looked down, "He was trained to kill, and he almost killed our daughter. Don't you understand? Do you even care that we almost lost our baby?"  
  
His own eyes softened and his stance became less defensive as he gazed at the down cast face of his beloved. Of course he had cared about his little angel, Matt would receive his punishment later, but things like this happened, and it angered him to no extent that he couldn't protect his family. Reaching out to his wife, he pulled her into his arms, letting her sob into his chest. They stood like that for a few moments, their outer appearances fading away to two lovers in turmoil. It was these rare moments that she would be able to see the person she had come to love beneath that hard mask he had placed over himself…one of the time she was allowed to be the person she truly was.  
  
"I do care. I love our baby, and I love you. You know I do," Her tears had subsided, but she would not look into his eyes, "but you know that we can't let that get in the way of what's really important."  
  
Her eyes flashed, and her heart burst as she pulled away from him. "What's more important than family and love? Can't you see it now? Ever since we had our babies, I've been trying to tell you…we can't live like this…we don't have to live like this…"  
  
"You want to leave?" His voice was more shock than angry, "We are the leaders of this gang, and you know we can't do that! We owe it to the members, and our ancestors."  
  
"What about us? We owe ourselves happiness and safety; we owe our children a better life than the ones we led. We owe no one else but ourselves and we can easily leave, are you trying to take away our children's futures?" Her voice rose with every word as she turned on him accusingly.  
  
"Taking away their future? I'm giving them their future. We know nothing out there, I won't be able to get a job and support you if we leave." He retorted just as angrily.  
  
"You can't support us now! Don't you see it? We steal food for us to live, we take money so that we can buy things…we have to thieve our way through lives and I don't want that anymore."  
  
"What happened to you? You're the best of the female members, the strongest and most dangerous woman in this whole gang. You killed without a thought. Stole without guilt. Why the sudden change?" He threw back at her with her past. "Our son will be a great leader, and his sister a great woman just like her mother!"  
  
She was quiet for a few moments before answering him, "Nothing happened to me. I became a mother and now as a mother, I see the danger that we are putting our babies in. Yes, I am the best, a killer, thief, and anything else you can accuse me of..." He sent her a triumphant look, but she continued, "…but I was wrong. All the things I've done, you don't know how guilty I feel about now. All those countless lives I took for no reason, all those lies, everything about my life, I hate. I was blind, but now my angels have made me see again, and I was wrong. I don't want my daughter and son to have to live the life I had…because one day they will live to regret it as much as I do right now."  
  
He starred at her for a few moments, her words sinking in, almost touching his hardened heart…almost. He straightened and stared her down. "You will not leave this gang, ever. Once you are a member, it's for life. Our son and daughter will be trained as soon as they come of age, and you will not think about escaping."  
  
Her heart broke with every word he spoke and shattered into pieces at his ultimatum he lay out at her, "…and if you do, I will be forced to kill you."  
  
With that he left her, and she collapsed into tears. This was how her son and daughter had found her two hours later, and she hugged them close to her in an effort to be comforted.  
  
End Flashback_  
  
Tears fell harder at the memory of that night two years prior to this day. After that day he had stopped being affectionate altogether, and although she knew he loved her, and she him, she couldn't stay any longer. He placed bodyguards with her and rarely let her be with her children too long. Their lovemaking was mechanical, and he took others to bed. She felt like a prisoner, and that irrational thought of her mind believed that he was worried about her leaving him. So she blindly stayed with him, watching as he flirted with other women, took other women to bed, threatened her, and kept her away from her children until one day it all fell a part for her. Just two weeks earlier, she was able to see again.  
  
_Flashback   
  
Moans vibrated off the walls, loud and penetrating her heart as she looked up from where she was fixing her gun. A loud creaking noise and even louder cries and groans came from her bedroom that she shared with her husband. She heard his voice as he screamed out another woman's name, and suddenly the thick curtain that was veiled around her lifted, but she was still in a haze as she stood up.  
  
She listened as they reached their climax, and her heart swollen from pain, and her mind hazy from images, her ears surrounded with sounds from the past two years. Her heart questioning his love for her, and her soul convincing her of his faithlessness as she crept into her room to see her husband asleep with his arm around the blonde form of her best student Megan. Without preamble, her gun was raised before she knew it, and the bullet flew before her mind could stop her.   
  
Megan was dead and her husband had awoken to see his wife in a fit of anger, her blood covering her form as she stared at him. He stared back into his wife's eyes and her usually soulful eyes were veiled, and he could no longer see the soul he had grown to love.  
  
End Flashback_  
  
She had avoided him after that, planning her escape. Megan's death was not discussed and they rarely spoke. Arrangements were made, and she spoke to no one in the course of the two weeks she was planning her escape. She was a fool because she still loved him, and could not bare to be away from him too long…but if she could just get her children away and safe…she would return to him and take whatever he gave her because she loved him that much. Hearing a rustling, and then heavy footsteps, her head snapped up. She looked all around her, holding her children close, one hand on the gun inside her coat.   
  
A clicking noise was heard, and she flew around to stare, not into the eyes of her husband, on the contrary, but into the eyes of her husband's enemy…the leader of the enemy gang. And a gasp escaped her lips as her grip tightened on her now cowering children as she realized that she was surrounded, and death seemed nothing but a breath away, and freedom and hope had faded as his gang and he pulled out various weapons.   
  
_Time manipulates your heart,  
preconceptions torn apart  
Begin to doubt my state of mind  
But I won't go down on what I said  
I won't retract convictions read  
I may perplex, but I'm not blind  
So take all this noise into your brain  
and send it back again  
I'll bear the cost, shed my skin, call  
you up and then...  
I'll say the words out loud  
-A Thousand Words_ Savage Garden  
  
=========  
to be continued (????)  



	2. Prologue II: Losing Sight

Discovering Eden 

_Last time:  
  
A clicking noise was heard, and she flew around to stare, not into the eyes of her husband, on the contrary, but into the eyes of her husband's enemy…the leader of the enemy gang. And a gasp escaped her lips as her grip tightened on her now cowering children as she realized that she was surrounded, and death seemed nothing but a breath away, and freedom and hope had faded as his gang and he pulled out various weapons.   
  
_

Prologue B: Losing Sight  


  
Her breath came in shallow puffs of air as she looked around her, eyes taking in every possible escape route. An arm pulled her children closer to her, hiding them slightly in her coat, the other hand wrapped around the cool metal handle of the gun strapped to her coat. The cool and familiar, yet unwanted piece of metal, sending ripples of disgust through her being. While planning her escape, she had wanted to leave everything and anything that reminded her of this life behind, but she was not naïve enough to leave behind the vile firearm.   
  
And that newly awakened side of her wished she was, wished that she was naïve enough to walk freely in a park at night with no thought of the danger lurking on every corner. But she wasn't, and she was more than ready to use the pistol to protect her children. That sick pleasure of satisfaction when seeing the bullet hit their intended target no longer affected her. Never had she thought of what she had been doing was wrong. Never had she felt any guilt for the countless lives she took, old and young, men, women, and even children sometimes. It was always necessary, the only way of survival. Yes she had been blind before, a cold heartless killer, but now here she stood, all the glory and pride gone from her stance. She was weakened, and she knew that her enemy knew this also by the way he was smirking at her, that evil heartless sneer similar to the ones she gave her victims.  
  
"Ah, what do we have here?" His voice was mocking as he spoke, "The rumored beauty, whose looks as disarming as her skills?"  
  
He was closer now, his gun lowered, but it mattered not because his followers were still standing menacingly close. He stepped so close to her, his hand reaching out to caress her cheek, and she fought the urge to slap his hand away. She couldn't provoke him now, not when there was so much at stake. His cold amber eyes, lifeless as it had been when she last saw him.   
  
"Could it be that Sero's slut is standing before me?" His voice was menacing, and his eyes flashed as he spat out her husband's street name. And she closed her eyes, her heart transporting her back to a time when that same hand that was grasping her arm so tightly, bruising her in the process, had once ran over her flushed body in soft caresses.   
  
Those solid amber eyes soft and glowing with love for her, and she looked away. It was so long ago, she had only been fifteen when she had met him, falling for him and believing that he was the one for her. Bit it was not to be, their fathers were enemies, and thus they were too. Still, the secret meetings never ceased not until the day she laid eyes on her sandy haired husband, the person named to be her father's successor. It was love at first site, and the rest as they say was history.  
  
Back then she thought nothing of it, and the last time she had seen him before was the night before her marriage when he had come to her, to plead for her to return to him, but she was far too gone, and had found the one that was her soulmate. Later as her marriage prospered, she had heard that he had taken his father's place and a bride. Her cold heart thought nothing of the pain she had caused him, but now as she stared into his eyes, remorse filled her to the core.   
  
"Please…let me go." She never had to beg for anything in her life, but for the sake of her children, it was all she could do as her mind searched for a plan of escape. His eyes softened momentarily at the vulnerability in her voice, but hardened once more as his grip tightened, and that was when he heard the small muffled sob coming from behind her. Looking down he saw the precious little girl with hair as silky and dark as her mother's, doe eyes innocent and full of fear and unshed tears. Looking over he saw that the little girl was holding a little boy's hand not much older than herself, his brown eyes fixed on his sister in concern, his sandy spikes ruffled.   
  
"Ah, Eve, these are your bastard children I presume?"   
  
She held back the urge to slap him, and her heart stopped when she realized that he hadn't called her by her real name, but by her street name. But when she heard his remark about her angels, she snapped and her hand was drawn, blade in hand slicing his face. He let out a yelp of pain, grabbing his face, eyes blazing with flaming passionate loathe, but she saw the small tint of love buried beneath all that anger. She always knew him that well, and he could never hide anything from him. His men leapt forward at her, but his hand stopped their movement, and he looked back at her, rubbing his cheek.  
  
"Dearest Eve, you are a foolish one. You should have stayed with Sero…because out here…out here you are…are vulnerable to sudden ambushes."  
  
Eve was silent as she stood looking at her ex-lover, her thoughts only on her children, the only reasons she was even still living. But before he could continue, one of her nemesis's men came running up, wounded by a bullet.  
  
"Larek!" He yelled to his leader, "They's coming. Sero's men is coming!"  
  
Eve took this distraction as her chance for escape, and fled with her children in her arms, she ran. Larek looked back, and his face contorted in anger, "Idiots! You handle Sero and his men…distract them, kill them whatever, just don't let them come after me."  
  
With that, Larek was off after his love, only vengeance in his heart, wanting to take away what mattered most to his enemy, just as he had stolen her before, he would steal her back and claim the money that was rightly his.  
  
==========  
  
"Mommy….mommy, my fweet hwurts." Her daughter whimpered, and Eve turned around to see that her daughter had cut her foot with a jagged rock.   
  
Eve swooped down with her son by her side, and tried her best to help her daughter and ease her pain. Gunshots were heard, and Eve spun around to see Larek and some of his men searching an area not far from where they were hiding. Looking down at her children with tears in her eyes, Eve pulled her daughter and son into a big embrace, knowing this would probably be the last time she would hold them in her arms.  
  
"Mommy has to leave you here ok baby? I want you to hide right here until daddy finds you ok? He'll take care of you. Promise mommy that you won't leave this tree until she or daddy calls you ok?" Her son and daughter nodded, in silent agreement, confusion, but also love in their innocent eyes.   
  
She pulled her son closer, "Michael, baby, I know you'll be a great man one day, handsome and intelligent, a great man."  
  
Michael nodded, sniffing up at his mom.   
  
"Promise me one thing ok sweetie? Protect your sister for me? When your daddy and mommy can't be there, promise to love and protect your sister."  
  
Michael nodded again, his grip on his younger sister tightening. Eve smiled and kissed his spiky head before turning to her daughter, a smaller version of herself, and tears would not stop as she said her goodbyes to her daughter.  
  
"C'mere precious." Liz walked into her mother's embrace. "Baby, I know you're not old enough to understand anything that is going on, but no matter what happens, no matter the way your life turns out, remember that I'll always love you, and I'm proud of you."  
  
Eve took off the necklace she wore around her neck, and clasped it around Liz's neck. The pendant, on one side had five stars aligned in a 'V' formation while the other side had a small whirlwind galaxy emblem.   
  
"Follow your heart Liz; it will never lead you astray." Kissing her daughter on the forehead, she stood up and pushed her children further into the bushes.  
  
Faye Parker, loving mother and wife now disappeared to again become the cold-hearted killer Eve, the silent assassin of her husband's gang. Glancing back at what she would be leaving, she felt what was left of her heart shatter, and the tears came endlessly, but she wiped them away with an emotionless mask.  
  
==========  
  
Michael Parker watched his mother's retreating form and then looked back at his younger sister who was crying endlessly. He sat down, and pulled her into his embrace, seeing that even though his mom had removed the rock and had treated her wound, she was still in pain, not only from the wound, but also from her confusion of seeing her mother leave her.   
  
"Shh… it's ok Lizzie, mommy will be right back. She had to go find daddy." He explained, his innocent five-year-old mind coming up with that solution as he stared pensively at where his mother had once stood. Suddenly he was up on his feet, and Liz looked up into his eyes, to see that his face had changed and he now had a determined look on his face.   
  
"Stay here Lizzie, I'm going to look for daddy too."  
  
Liz shook her head, tears coming even more as she grasped at her brother's hand in fear. Michael tried to pull away, but upon seeing the fear in her eyes he stooped down and smoothed back her hair affectionately.   
  
"I'll be back, I promise. I'm going to find daddy and mommy and we can all be together again." With that he was off, his feet carrying him faster than Liz's toddler feet could keep up with and she staggered after him tears in her eyes as she called his name.   
  
Running until her little feet couldn't last anymore, Liz fell down and tears pooled in her expressive eyes when she realized that she truly was alone.   
  
Hearing footsteps, she froze, fearfully on the ground, too scared to move.   
  
"Hey!" A soft masculine voice called out, and Liz looked up to find herself lost in a sea of amber, and something in her childish heart clicked. The little boy, who could be no older than Michael had his arm extended to her, concern in his little eyes. She hesitantly took his hand, and he pulled her up.  
  
"You ok?" He asked as he did a quick sweep of her body, "What are you doing out here so late? Where's your mommy?"  
  
Tears came to her eyes at the thought of her mom, and the five-years-old boy  
panicked when he realized this. "Hey, I'm sorry, don't cry. I'll help you find your mommy."  
  
His little heart broke with each tear she shed, and he was relieved when she stopped crying. Suddenly, he pulled her to him, covering her mouth as he hid them both behind a small tree. Glancing around, they saw the members of both gangs running towards the bridge. His serious eyes told her not to make a sound as he assessed the situation, keeping them both from harm.  
  
As the footsteps became softer and softer, and his hand gently moved away from her mouth, and he stepped back. He took her hand, and together, they braved the dark of night as they walked through the silent park.  
  
Liz trembled as they walked along, and he, noticing this, stopped them and took his scarf off and wrapped it around her form. She smiled brightly at him, and they continued their long journey in finding their parents.   
  
"Momma!" Liz's ears perked up at the distant sound of her brother's voice, and she let go of her grip on the mysterious boy's hand, and ran towards the sound excitedly, forgetting about her little savior. And he just watched as she ran off, his amber eyes darkening with the sense of emptiness inside him as he headed of in the other direction, in search of his own father.  
  
==========  
  
Liz ran, forgetting the pain she felt in her right foot as she raced through the trees, towards the bridge, where the voice had been coming from.  
  
"Momma!" Hearing her brother's voice again, her little feet carried her faster through the darkened night.  
  
==========  
  
Eve walked stealthy through the night towards the bridge she knew that Larek's men were stationed. If she could cause a distraction, perhaps her husband would then be able to find their children. Nearing the bridge, she heard the distant sounds of guns and yelling. Dropping down into the bushes nearby, she saw not only Larek, but also her husband fighting along with the other members of both gangs. So many were lying on the ground, either dead or on the verge of death.  
  
"Momma!" Eve's heart dropped when she heard the distant call of her son's voice. Looking up, she saw him, running right towards the carnage and destruction, and again he called.  
  
"Momma!" Not knowing what danger he was putting himself in, he continued to run, and this caused Sero to stop and look at his son, fear running through his veins. At this point, one of Larek's men had seen the child, and the gun was off before anyone knew anything, and in the blink of an eye, all was over as the resounding wail of an innocent girl could be heard.   
  
==========  
  
Without a thought to her actions, or the consequences, she soared through the air, and she felt the tear to her heart, but a smile continued to play across her face. Sorrow and happiness seeping through her as her form hit the pavement. Sorrow for leaving the ones she loved so soon, happiness and acceptance because alas, she was finally at peace. And she felt the light fading as death swept across her being, but she felt no fear, only content, and in the distant she heard the sobs of her daughter. Though it tore at her, she knew…she knew that everything would be ok. In the end, everything would be ok. Closing her eyes for the last time, Faye Parker Guerin, a redeeming soul left behind her a stricken husband, and two mourning children.   
  
==========  
  
Liz neared the bridge, and she looked over it, her eyes searching for her family in the midst of all the battle, and she heard her brother's voice as her eyes located him, and in the next instant her world was turned upside down as the bullet meant for her brother, went straight through her mother's heart. The wail that escaped her lips echoed throughout the abandoned park, and the distant sounds of sirens could be heard as she watched the strangers all scatter, running away from the scene. She watched as her older brother ran to his mother's side, and tried to wake her. Tears ran down her face, because she knew.   
  
Her young mind knew, just knew that her mom would never open her eyes again. Would never smile for her, never sing to her again. She watched as her father ran to her mother's lifeless body, and she saw his façade disappear. Sero was no more, only Kevin Guerin, loving husband, grieved for his beautiful and now lifeless wife, the fallen angel Faye Parker Guerin. Liz took this all in, and in one instant, her loving heart was turned to ice, and her innocent and trusting nature all but disappeared as she wept and mourned for the one woman was always trying to make it right. The one woman who was trying to save her.  


_It's not easy  
Trying to understand  
How the world can be so cold  
Stealing the souls of man  
Cloudy skies rain down  
On all your dreams  
You wrestle with the fear and doubt  
Sometimes it's hard, but you gotta believe  
There's a better place  
_-_There Will Come a Day _Faith Hill  


  
tbc…  
  
**A/N: **Unexpected was that? Ok, let me explain something with the names. Basically, Sero, Larek, and Eve are just street names, gang names you know? They have real names that only their enemy and their close friends know.   
  
So recap:  
  
**Eve: **Faye Parker Guerin  
**Sero: **Kevin Guerin  
**Larek:** Well…you don't know his name yet, but you will know soon.   
  
Hoped that helped, I know that seemed confusing, but I'll try my best. Really, I only use the gang names briefly. Barely even. So what do you think? Should I continue? 


End file.
